


Rotten Fruits Make Youthful Jam

by starrylitme



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Bad Cooking, Dysfunctional Relationships, Fluff and Crack, Friendship/Love, Gen, Jam, M/M, Post-Canon, Slice of Life, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 01:26:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7737868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrylitme/pseuds/starrylitme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Komaeda wants jam and Hinata tries to make some. Just about everyone else follows suit. Too many not-cooks somehow results in too much jam and many, many bans from the kitchen. And from the produce.</p>
<p>(Post-SDR2 AU in which it's just another day on Jabberwock Island in which Hinata struggles because of his weird friends and his even weirder unfortunate crush.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rotten Fruits Make Youthful Jam

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a little over a week ago for DGRP Fan Month on Tumblr. I'm not entirely sure where I was going with it, but it's cute at least. It was a pain to write because of all the characters though.
> 
> I still hope you enjoy it. X3

“Because of Owari-san’s carelessness, I’ve gotten a cold while she was pushing me.” Komaeda sounds less bitter about this and more matter-of-fact, almost resigned. He blows his nose inelegantly and still has to wipe his face with a sniffle. “Because of my weak immune system, this is probably going to develop into something worse in spite of the doctors’ efforts. It really is quite...unfortunate.”

Hinata swallowed.

“Well, something like this was bound to happen sooner. I’m surprised it hasn’t, really,” Komaeda said. He drearily blinked upwards, seemingly fixated on the ceiling before that gaze towards Hinata and though his expression didn’t change, the tone seemed softer than before as he added, “It’s still nothing special. I’ll surely recover over the course of the next few days. So there’s no need for that uneasy face, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata blushed, but his frown ended up deepening.

“It’s just a bit of bad luck,” Komaeda says with a sigh. “There really is no need for drama about it. I’m expecting a shipment of my favorite soda next week and that’ll be that.”

“...All this for soda, huh...?” Hinata wondered, wavering just a bit.

“Lately there’s only been Dr. Hopper and not Blue Ram.” Komaeda huffs. “I’ve been trying Mioda-san’s favorite at her insistence... But it just made my mouth hurt with how the flavor...pops.”

Hinata snorts at that, covering his mouth. “T-That does sound rough...”

Komaeda just nods in response, and it almost, almost looks like he’s pouting. Hinata almost laughs—almost, though a smile tugs at his lips all the same. Then, with a clear of his throat, he spoke up again.

“Do you want anything in the meantime?”

Komaeda perks up, and with those wide, curious doe eyes locked onto him, Hinata feels his face grow hot as he forces himself to keep talking, even as he stammers at points.

“I-I mean, since you’re bedridden, y-you’re not going to be getting stuff on your own and... The medical staff’s so busy that they might not get everything you ask for... So, uh... If it’s like, a book or if you want to pass on messages... I can...”

Hinata takes a deep breath so that he doesn’t end up passing out, and the next words come out as a rush, “O-Or if you just need someone to talk to, then I...!!”

“Jam.”

“...Ah, huh?” Hinata blinked back stupidly.

“Jam.” Komaeda repeated, without missing a beat. “I want jam.”

“Oh... Uh... Sure...” Hinata’s not sure how to feel about that at all. “We’ve never had any shipped in... But I’m sure Hanamura knows how to make some...?”

“Hmm.” Komaeda looked off to the side, rather unimpressed. “Just make sure he doesn’t drug it. If he does, I might end up dying because of a rather disastrous reaction between that and my medication.”

“I’ll definitely keep a close eye on him in that case.” Though... While Hinata wouldn’t put it past Hanamura under ‘normal’ circumstances—he had to wonder if Hanamura was still too scared of Komaeda to try something like that now. Either way, Hinata definitely wouldn’t risk it. “So is that all? Do you just want jam?”

“I want toast, too.”

Yeah, Komaeda rarely seemed to have an appetite for anything else.

Maybe asking for jam was progress for him after all. He really, really shouldn’t be surprised.

_Even though it_ is _a bit disappointing..._

“Alright, Komaeda.” Sighing and waving Komaeda off, Hinata turned heel to head out the door. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Later, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata did pause a bit before shutting the door behind him.

* * *

“Oho~! And what kind of jelly do you want, Hinata-kun?! Peachy? Cherry?  _Petroleum_?!”

“That last one’s not edible, is it?”

“It can still serve some... _tasty_  purposes...” Hanamura waggled his eyebrows at him, licking his lips. Hinata, used to this but still feeling mildly off-put, just shook his head.

“I...don’t think Komaeda’s gonna have any use for that...”

“K-Komaeda-kun?!” Hanamura exclaimed in surprise. He shuddered, visibly nervous, but soon recovered with a shaky laugh. “H-Ha! Haha! Oh, I... I wouldn’t be so sure about that...” Even though Hanamura looked a little ill after saying that, almost as though wondering if he just cursed himself. “But, uh... M-Maybe it  _would_  be for the best to just pick a fruit... I-I think Komaeda-kun likes strawberries...?”

“Oh yeah, that’s the flavor he usually gets for shaved ice...” Hinata recalls. “I guess that’s a safe bet then.”

“Yeah...” Hanamura agrees, and begins sweating even more. “S-Safe...”

“Okay, strawberry jam it is,” Hinata says with a smile that Hanamura seems to calm down at. “You can make some, right, Hanamura?”

“R-Right!” Hanamura beamed. “Of course!!”

“Thanks, Hanamura, I really appreciate—”

A hand landed on his shoulder.

“Hinata-san.”

Hinata perked up in confusion, turning to a sweetly smiling Sonia pulling her hand back.

“Forgive me, I could not help but overhear...” Clapping her hands together, with a meaningfulness to her expression and tone that Hinata didn’t quite understand, she asked, “Did you say Komaeda-san wanted some jam?”

“Uh, yeah. He asked me for some after he got sick...?” Hinata rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling strangely nervous. “So, I thought...”

“You thought Hanamura-san would be the one to ask?” Sonia finished for him. He nodded. Sonia’s smile barely twitched, though there was still that coolness in her air. “I see.”

_...What’s with this atmosphere?_

“Hinata-san,” Sonia continues, kindly but sternly. “I’m afraid you’re making a huge mistake.”

“...Huh?” Hinata nearly coughed, laughing hesitantly. “I-I mean, I’m keeping a close eye to make sure Hanamura wouldn’t add anything weird, if that’s what you’re worried about...”

“I-I wouldn’t do that!! Not to Komaeda-kun!” Hanamura stammered. “Do you have any idea what might  _happen_  if I did?!”

_...He sounds more scared of Komaeda than scared for Komaeda..._

“No, no, you misunderstand.” Sonia shook her head twice. “You see, if someone asks you for something like jam, it is imperative that  _you_  make it yourself. Just going to Hanamura-san is, pardon the pun, in  _poor taste_!!”

“It...is?” Hinata never heard of that before. It could just be a Novoselic tradition—but Sonia looked too serious for him to point that out.

“Absolutely!” Sonia exclaimed, making him flinch back. “Hinata-san, I won’t have it! No way in hell!”

“A-Alright, alright,” Hinata said, waving his hands in front of him in an attempt to be placating. “I understand—I’ll do this on my own.”

“Good!”

“...So, uh, am I needed after all?” Hanamura asked, honestly curious. “Or will Hinata-kun be alright on his own?”

“I...” Hinata swallowed as he took in Sonia’s deeply pensive expression as she seemed deep in thought. “Just tell me the basics, and I’ll probably be fine, I guess?”

“Understood, Hinata-kun!” He replied with a chirp, then followed it with a flirtatious wink. “Course, if you ever need a good helping hand, I’ll always be available for you.”

_...On second thought, I’ll **definitely**  be fine with just the basics..._

* * *

It sounded simple enough.

Mash strawberries into mush and boil it with the proportionate amount of sugar and water. It shouldn’t take too long, right?

Hanamura and Sonia’s intense stares from behind, even as they’d duck away whenever Hinata glanced back, didn’t help him feel optimistic about this at all. But he just ignored them—best he could—even if he didn’t do it well.

Picking all the leaves from all the strawberries, he washed them thoroughly. Excessively thoroughly since it was for Komaeda. Komaeda always griped at him to be beyond painstakingly meticulous when it came to washing food.

Hanamura and Sonia were still watching him like hawks. Hanamura, he could kind of understand, but Sonia... Whatever. None of his business, right?

_Right._

He began plopping the clean strawberries into the pot to start crushing.

“Sonia-san! Good morn—!”

“Hush, Souda-san!”

“Hey, what’s going on here?”

“Kuzuryuu-san, shush!”

“Huh?”

“What’s with all the SHUSHING, Sonia-chan?! Is something SUPER private going on?!”

“Mioda-san, please lower your volume as well. There really is no need to shout.”

Mioda replied in a loud whisper. “... _Ooh_! That’s a really serious expression, Sonia-chan!!”

Kuzuryuu grumbled. “Just because you’re whispering doesn’t mean you’re being quiet... So what’s going on, exactly?”

“Hinata-san is...”

Hinata kept on mashing and mashing, focusing on that sound and nothing else.

_It was going to be a long day._

* * *

Somehow, the number of conversations from the hallway increased. As did the shouting when Owari and Nidai arrived. Somehow, Hinata properly measured the sugar in spite of it. In the very least, Hanamura already laid out the other ingredients needed for mixing.

The conversations behind him were dying down. That means just about everyone was focused on him.

Great. Or maybe Hinata could pretend that they all left him alone to make Komaeda’s jam in peace and without watch after all. If only.

Pouring the mixture into a pot to boil, Hinata took a deep breath.

He stirred it a couple times.

And then it started smoking, making him and everyone outside  _freak_.

* * *

“You have to stir it better than that, Hinata-kun!!” Hanamura exclaimed, washing out the pot and scrubbing it with a grumble. “To be fair, jam making is often trial and error—but when it comes to Komaeda-kun, you really should be more careful!!”

“It’s probably because it was for Komaeda that it started burning in the first place,” Souda said as though that was meant to be comforting. “It, uh, was _for_ Komaeda, right?”

“Yeah,” Hinata sighs. “I asked him if he wanted anything while he was sick, and well, he said jam... And Sonia said that I should make the jam for him.”

“Don’t worry, Hinata-san!!” Sonia shouted from a distance. “We have plenty of strawberries since Tanaka-san had a hell of a harvest!!”

“Yeah, but do we really have to waste them on fucking  _Komaeda_?” Kuzuryuu asked.

“I don’t like him either, but that guy’s skin and bones,” Owari said with a shrug.

“I’d expect that there’d be days where he doesn’t even  _SHIT_!!” Nidai added with a shout of the upmost seriousness. “He CLEARLY needs more of a diet!!”

Hinata was back to washing strawberries while Mioda seemed distracted by the sanitized jars set out. Hanamura already warned her against touching them.

“...So a good amount of everyone else really was watching this, huh?” Hinata asks, dully staring at thoroughly washed strawberry before plopping it into the bowl. “They’ve nothing better to do?”

“It’s not our fault if barely anything of interest happens on this island, dude,” Souda stated matter-of-factly, picking at his nose as he did.

Hinata was as unsurprised as he was unimpressed. “Huh.”

_It’s not like there’s that little to do..._

He began picking off the leaves. “If you think it’s bad for us, imagine how Komaeda must feel when he’s confined to a hospital room so often.”

“Well, I mean...!” Souda seemed ready to say something about how it was _Komaeda_ —who _cared_ about Komaeda—but he stopped when he noted Hinata’s sharp stare directed to the strawberries. And so, Souda just sighs. “Yeah, must be rough. I’d probably die of boredom if I were him.”

_As though that isn’t what he deserves._  A good number of them are probably thinking.

Hinata sighs and Hanamura sets out the ingredients for him again without another word. In fact everyone seems to be under an eerie silence as he began once again mashing. It remained after he finished.

And it wasn’t until Hinata was carefully pouring the sugar into a measuring cup that Ibuki broke the silence with, “One measly jar of nothing but boring ol’ STRAWBERRIES for jam isn’t enough for Nagito-chan! Teruteru-chan!! I’m going to make him something with more POP!! Like LEMONS! With RHUBARB!”

“That sounds delicious...for cakes and bars! I don’t know about jam. Though I don’t know if Komaeda-kun likes sour things?” Hanamura looked at Hinata while asking. To that, Hinata shrugged.

“I mean, he didn’t complain when Sonia offered him umeboshi. So maybe?”

“That’s right!” Sonia chirped. “Komaeda-san LOVES umeboshi!! Mioda-san, you should definitely add umeboshi!!”

“OOH!!!”

“Wait,” Hinata cut in there. “How much umeboshi are you thinking of adding in addition to rhubarb and lemon?”

Mioda perked up, blinking with wide-eyed innocence as she replied, “An entire bag, why?”

“No.” Surprisingly, Hanamura spoke up at the same time and even went on, explaining, “Mioda-san, not only is that too much for one jar of jam, but you have to be sparing with something like umeboshi! Especially as a side to other things!”

“Oh, really?” Mioda asked as Sonia blinked curiously before turning thoughtful.

“YES!!” Hanamura exclaimed, exasperated.

“Well that’s what we have YOU for, Teruteru-chan!!” Mioda laughs, clapping him on the shoulder. “You’ve got a pervy eye but it’s still a GOOD eye!!”

Kuzuryuu shot her a look from across the room. She didn’t seem to notice.

Hinata didn’t really notice either, given how focused he was on pouring the jam back into the pot. He did think about how Kuzuryuu felt though, somewhere in the back of his mind. But now wasn’t the time for that.

He needed to get this jam made. Especially when it was getting harder to concentrate and...

“Perhaps you can assist me as well, Hanamura-san?” Sonia asks.

Hanamura gasped at that. “Ooh?!”

“I’m thinking... I would like to make Komaeda-san some jam alongside Mioda-san...”

“OOH!!” Mioda squealed this time. “Yeah—YEAH!! We should ALL make Nagito-chan jam!! Ibuki, of course, will make EXTRA SPECIAL JAM, but—it doesn’t hurt to have backup!!”

_That wouldn’t include me, right?_ Hinata wondered.

In response, his jam caught on fire. Souda screamed but Nidai got the fire extinguisher in record time and it was immediately taken care of.

“Komaeda might just need someone besides Hinata to make his jam if he’s going to get any,” Kuzuyruu snorted.

“Ooh! Good to see you volunteering, Kuzuryuu-san!” Sonia gasped happily. He balked but she cheerfully went on. “With all of us fighting together, there’s no way in HELL we’ll lose against this jam!!”

“Ay, ay, Sonia-san!!” Souda was quick to agree, and quick to shove a protesting Kuzuryuu into getting fruit. Of course, Pekoyama followed.

Surprisingly, after placing the fire extinguisher aside, Nidai seemed to be trailing after them alongside Owari.

“Huh?” Hinata asked, making the two of them pause. “Wait... You two are going as well?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I still hate that guy’s guts but...” Owari folded her arms with a matter-of-fact frown and nod. “Old man Nidai’s got a valid concern for his diet. Also...” She grinned widely, drooling as she did. “It’s been a long while since I had jam...”

“Oh... Okay.” Hinata shrugged helplessly. “I mean, I’m sure Komaeda will appreciate it?”

“Of COURSE he will!!” Nidai shouted as Owari punched the inside of her hand with a rather fierce grin. It...probably wasn’t supposed to be an indirect threat, but it still felt that way and Hinata felt his smile twitch.

So as they rushed off, he really didn’t know how to feel at all. Grateful? Probably definitely. Worried? Definitely probably. Something like that.

_Still..._

“Hinata-kun...”

Ah, right, Hanamura was still with him. Because he had to once again wash out the pot Hinata used, not to mention also having to scrub out ashes due to the fire.

“I’m, uh, really sorry about this.” Hinata rubbed at the nape of his neck sheepishly, bowing his head as he did. “I didn’t think it’d be this much trouble, but, well... Honestly I should have known better, considering it’s Komaeda and all...”

“Ah, well, it’s not like Komaeda-kun’s at fault when all he’s doing is resting in his hospital bed at the moment,” Hanamura sighs with a light tone of voice, and then giggles. “And if he’s just _cursed_ well, t-that can’t be helped either...”

Hanamura was still trembling a little.

“I’d like to make things easier on him,” Hinata finds himself saying, with a sigh of his own. “But no matter what I do, it just makes things harder on _me_. Maybe we really are cursed?”

Hanamura didn’t say anything to that. His nervous, tight-lipped expression said enough.

“I’m still going to keep trying though.” Hinata gathers more of those strawberries and takes them to the sink to thoroughly wash. “The idea of giving up now is just too aggravating to consider, you know? I really am sorry for the trouble, however, and I really appreciate your help, Hanamura.”

“Oh, well!!” Hanamura squeaked, flustered as he did before bursting into nervous laughter. “I-If it’s for Hinata-kun, I don’t mind! And well, now everyone else wants to make jam, too! We all can’t help but follow Hinata-kun’s lead!”

“My lead, huh?” Hinata mused curiously. “But I’m doing this for Komaeda’s sake.”

“Komaeda-kun’s lucky in more than one way it seems...” Hanamura cleared his throat and then, with an uncharacteristically serious gleam in his eyes, “You know what they say about the crazy ones in bed.”

Hinata flushed red, and it didn’t take long for him to start shouting, “It’s not like _THAT_!!”

“That said, while Komaeda-kun has a nice face and body, Hinata-kun, I really wouldn’t recommend...”

“You’ve got it wrong, Hanamura, I _swear_ —!”

“Still... Komaeda-kun’s stamina is poor and I’d much rather he be tired out by ** _that_** rather than...”

“Shut UP!!”

Hanamura does clamp his mouth shut at least. But that look on his face suggested that he was still on that line of thought and, well—

Hinata had strawberries to mash and make jam out of.

That’s all that mattered.

* * *

“And while I appreciate it,” Komaeda starts to say before trailing off. “This is a bit...”

“Yeah,” Hinata replies, as he grunts a bit in adjusting the way he’s carrying the box brimming with sealed jam jars. He manages to set it down on the end of the bed, making them clatter together, not that Hinata noticed with how he heaved to catch his breath.

Komaeda whistles, mildly impressed. “I’m surprised you managed to carry all that all the way over here, Hinata-kun.”

“It’s a good thing I’ve been exercising,” Hinata muttered, taking in a deep breath before wiping off his brow. “Actually there was another box—but Nidai took it. We uh, had a lot of jam since by the end of the day since just about everyone wanted to make a jar. We’re almost fresh out of produce now.”

“Everyone?” Komaeda tilted his head, eyes wide and confused.

“Yeah, uh, it was just Sonia and Mioda... And then it was Owari and Nidai... And I guess Souda dragged Kuzuryuu into it, which made Pekoyama get involved... And then they returned with Koizumi and Saionji... And Tanaka showed up—I don’t know from where, as did uh, Toga—I mean, you know. That guy.” Hinata gestured helplessly. Komaeda just motioned for him to go on, which he did. “Tsumiki had to keep watch to make sure no one got injured because there were, uh... A lot of fires. Hanamura screamed at us more than a few times but—you know, after everything, the kitchen was in a much better state than I expected.”

Komaeda quirked an eyebrow, gaze expectant. “But...?”

_Yeah. Of course._ “But no one save for Hanamura can go in there for at least a couple of weeks. Also, if we’re not Hanamura, we can’t mess around with the produce after it’s been harvested. For...as long as it’ll take the Future Foundation to trust that we won’t waste it all over the course of a few hours again.”

Komaeda immediately snorted.

“B-But we now have enough jam to last a week!” He quickly exclaimed, flustered before going right back to mumbling, “Or, less, depending on how much Owari eats...” Hinata started taking out a few jars, swallowing as he did. “But these ones are all yours, so in the very least, you’re set for a while.”

“Indeed,” Komaeda agreed, though he cupped his chin thoughtfully. “But, ah, I wonder how many of those are edible.”

“Yeah, we’re going to need to sort through these,” Hinata said, setting them aside to pick up more. Komaeda picked up one of the jars, observing it closely. Hinata perked up upon realizing which one it was. “Pekoyama made that one, so I assume it’s okay.”

“Really?” Komaeda sets it aside and picks up another jar to hold up and observe. “Let me guess—this one is Koizumi-san’s?”

“Yeah, it is.” Hinata chuckles, but then winces when he remembers, “But, uh, Saionji helped her make it. So I’d be careful with that one.”

“I’ll take my chances.” Komaeda sets it alongside Pekoyama’s, when the unique color of one of the other jars catches his eye. “What is that?”

“That’s...Mioda’s.” Hinata stared at the jar in question. He really wasn’t sure how to even describe it—and part of him wondered if it’d glow in the dark. It looked like it would. “She said she wanted to make jam that popped.”

“It certainly does pop out...” And fittingly, Komaeda sets it aside from the other two jars. He also does so with the other jar Mioda made with yet another color that neither he nor Hinata were sure had a name. “While I certainly appreciate her efforts... I hear it’s bad for one’s health to consume something radioactive.”

“I’m...pretty sure it’s not radioactive...” And yet, Hinata argued no further at the look Komaeda shot him. Instead he just grabbed a jar with jam that was a reasonable shade of purple and handed it over. “Here, this one’s Kuzuryuu’s. Pretty sure it’s safe.”

Komaeda takes it, and despite everything, good-naturedly laughs, “I’ll take your word for it, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata felt heat rush to his face, blush no doubt spreading from ear to ear. But he nods all the same.

And that was pretty much how things went—the two of them sorting out all these jars of jam into two distinct piles of ‘probably safe’ and ‘probably not safe’. Some were pretty obviously in the latter pile in addition to Mioda’s—anything made by Saionji on her own, for instance, and Souda due to Hinata remembering how weird his had smelled while he’d been cooking. But there were quite a few jars of jam that the two weren’t so sure about.

 “This one is...” Komaeda held it to the light, squinting his eyes at it. “It’s...quite the shade of brown...”

“Nidai made that one,” Hinata said. “He uh, used a lot of vegetables, I think. Or at least, stuff that’d be good for your bowels.”

Komaeda squinted at it even more, but placed it in the middle of the two stacks.

So a _maybe_.

Tanaka’s was also a maybe, even if it was the darkest shade of black Hinata had ever seen.

“...Hinata-kun.”

“Ah, yeah?” Hinata tears his eyes from the jars to meet Komaeda’s gaze. Except, Komaeda was just looking at the jar of strawberry jam in his hand—one of the ones Hinata made. “Oh—yeah, those gave me a _lot_ of trouble.”

“Did they, now?”

“If you don’t eat them, I’m _jamming_ them down your throat.”

Komaeda laughs, but Hinata’s only half-joking. Still, he doesn’t complain. He just frowns at him like a flustered idiot, and he swallows when Komaeda sighs, brushing his hair back.

“You know, our teacher had a saying, Hinata-kun.”

“Your teacher?” Hinata’s voice raises a bit, and he’s not sure why but his mind feels blank. “What, uh, was it?”

Komaeda’s smile was similarly empty, and his response was awfully quiet. “I don’t really remember—except that it had something to do with jam.”

“Happiness is like jam?” He’s just making a guess. The withered look Komaeda gives him suggests that it wasn’t a very good one.

But then, Komaeda thought it over.

“Come to think of it,” Komaeda muses suddenly before lightly chuckling. “Whatever Hinata-kun was saying probably makes more sense.”

“You think so?”

Komaeda nods, and then, “I...really don’t know what else to say, Hinata-kun.”

Hinata huffs at that. “How about a _thank you_? You know, for the jam?”

“Thank you, Hinata-kun!!” Komaeda chirped so cheerfully that Hinata just got even more flustered and aggravated. But with the way he kept on smiling, it’s not like he could say anything but a low mumble of how it was _nothing_. Even as Komaeda’s smile faltered at that.

“Look,” Hinata finds himself saying, averting his stare from that smile. “It wasn’t just me for once. Despite everything, everyone else wanted to do something for you. Because, I guess, even for all your problems, you’re still part of our class. I guess.”

“Or,” Komaeda laughs, tone low and light. “They were just following Hinata-kun’s lead. Because Hinata-kun’s _always_ doing things for me.”

“I doubt it’s just that,” Hinata retorts. “Especially not for every other person out there.”

Komaeda hums. “But, Hinata-kun, you’re the one who _likes_ me, right?”

Hinata flushed, but quickly bit out, “ _That_ has nothing to do with anything.”

“Au contraire,” Komaeda sighs, setting the strawberry jam aside on the bedside table rather than with any of the other jars. “You know, Hinata-kun, I was thinking something else.”

Hinata’s glare narrowed, but he still asked, “What?”

“This group really is rotten to the core.” A pause. “May I have some toast?”

It’s something else, how seamless the switch is—how irritatingly innocuous his tone was when he made that request.

But, all the same, with a helpless sigh, Hinata just nods. The smile Komaeda gives him—and the immediate chirp of ‘thank you’ just makes it worse.

...But, he really doesn’t mind _that_ much.


End file.
